


A Glimmer Of Older Times

by shinjaninja



Category: Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, But mostly cute, Christmas, It's super gross and cute honestly, M/M, Magi Secret Santa 2015, Mentions of death and stuff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-25
Updated: 2015-12-25
Packaged: 2018-05-09 07:33:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5531150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shinjaninja/pseuds/shinjaninja
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>-or- Judal is surprisingly thoughtful at giftgiving [Magi Secret Santa 2015 gift for renxhakuryuu]</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Glimmer Of Older Times

“Where’s your present?”

Hakuryuu reluctantly looked up from his book.  Judal stood in the doorway, balancing a box wrapped in equal parts newspaper and scotch tape on his hip.  He peeked around the room, like he was looking for something hidden under Hakuryuu’s stack of books or in his covers.  “Excuse me?”

“Your _present_ .  You know.  For _me._ ” Judal looked back at him, picking up the travesty of a box up from his hip to shake it.

Hakuryuu waited for him to elaborate, but when he didn’t, he sighed and closed his book.  “Why would I have a present for you, Judal?”

Judal gaped at him, and placed a hand on his chest over his heart.  “ _Ouch,_ Hakuryuu!  So _cold_ , that you couldn’t get me a present for Christmas?”  He pouted (an entirely exaggerated jutted lip and furrowed brow that Hakuryuu saw more often than Judal would ever confess to) , and looked down at his own poorly wrapped gift.  “I worked so hard on yours, too.”

“ _Christmas?_ ” Hakuryuu jumped up and fumbled for his phone.  “That’s _today?_ ”  The phone glared incriminatingly up at him.   _December 25._  “I thought I had a few days, I guess I forgot…”

Judal, in the middle of Hakuryuu’s panic, had already made himself comfortable in Hakuryuu’s previous seat, tossing the box up and down.  “How do you _forget_ Christmas?  Like, I got that you weren’t getting festive, but you aren’t usually that _excited_ for a lot of things.  I just thought that’s how you handled the season.”

“You could have reminded me if you wanted it to be festive,” Hakuryuu grumbled, like his forgetfulness could be placed on Judal.  “I just don’t like all…” he gestured outside the window he was sitting by, where the street was lined with blinking Christmas lights.  “ _That_.”

“What’s wrong with _that_ ?” Judal narrowed his eyes suspiciously.  “Did you actually _forget,_ or do you just not like Christmas?  Have I been living with a Grinch this whole time?”

Hakuryuu, of course, had his share of wonderful Christmas memories.  He could still remember mornings he would be woken up by the sound of Hakuren jumping on Hakuyuu’s bed.  He would race around the house with his siblings and his cousins, clutching Hakuyuu’s hand to make sure he didn’t slip across the floor with his socks.  Last time, his cousin Kouen had gotten to play Santa, plucking up each present from the tree to distribute to their family.  Hakuei would help him unwrap them, since his fingers had been too small to efficiently shuck the gifts of their paper, and Hakuyuu would lean down into his ear to remind him to say “thank you” for every gift he opened.

Hakuryuu had spent the next Christmas in critical care with third degree burns.  The next year, there were two stockings missing from their mantle.  Christmas became an efficient rush of obligations, fussing over crisp pictures to send out with cards, lectures on behavior for extravagant dinners where Hakuryuu couldn’t recognize anyone as family.  Posing for pictures to place next to news stories about what a giving, generous foundation Kou had become, even when presents had disappeared from his own tree.  Gift giving became a private exchange between him and his sister, until she’d been sent to oversee another branch of the company.

“I haven’t really had much of a Christmas since my brothers…” was what he said, and Judal nodded in understanding.  “I don’t remember much of what you’re supposed to do.”

Judal let out a dramatic sigh, as if the pressures of the world were resting on his shoulders, and reached out for Hakuryuu.  “Well then _here._ ”  He stood up to press Hakuryuu back into his seat, all but thrusting the poorly wrapped gift into his arms and sitting on the floor.  “You can go get me something tomorrow, and I’ll still act surprised!  Now come _on_.”  He rapped the top of the box with his fingers.

Hakuryuu waved Judal’s restless hands away.  “Okay, _okay…”_  He picked up the box, remembering Judal shaking it, and brought it up to his ear to shake it for himself to try and hear the contents.  The paper proved just as much of a mess to get off as it seemed to be to get on, and he ended up tearing it in strips and chunks.  He kept glancing up at Judal, who he could have sworn was buzzing with excitement, before turning back to his gift to lift the lid.

“…Tea?”  Hakuryuu dipped his hand into the box, pulling out a handful of teabags.  They were all labeled ‘White Jasmine,’ and he narrowed his eyes suspiciously as he looked up at Judal.  “Aren’t these the teabags from the dining commons?”

Judal waved his hand.  “Keep going.”

“My present is _stolen_ tea?”

“I said keep _going,_ Hakuryuu, _under_ the tea!” Judal was grinning as he reached up to shake the box, shuffling the tea around.

Hakuryuu dropped the packets back into the box, unimpressed, and shook the box right at him in retaliation before reaching back in.  He shoved the tea out of the way until he hit something else, something soft, and pulled out a small folded piece of cloth.  He carefully unfolded it, in case something was hidden inside, and found himself with a long, soft scarf.

“I already have a scarf…” Hakuryuu started, immediately cut off by Judal waving his hands.

“I know, I _know,_ but your scarf sucks.  It looks itchy.  Your neck’s always all red when you take it off and you don’t stop touching it for like, half an hour.”  Judal rubbed his own neck to demonstrate where he’d seen how irritated Hakuryuu’s skin usually was.  “I figured you could use a different one.”

“But I didn’t…” He hadn’t even told Judal he’d needed a scarf.  He hadn’t once complained about the discomfort his old scarf, but Judal had noticed how uncomfortable he was when he wore it.  He found himself touched, realizing just how close Judal had paid attention to him and how thoughtful the gift was.

A good minute or two had apparently passed, because Judal was shaking his knee to take his attention away from the scarf.  “Should I bring it back?  I figured you’d want the white one, but I can go get the blue one if you want.  Or some mittens-”

“ _No,_ no…” Hakuryuu cut him off, reaching down to put his hands on either side of Judal’s face and pull him up for a kiss.  He murmured between each of his kisses, finding himself smiling into them.  “I love it.” _Kiss_ .  “It’s perfect.”   _Kiss._  He felt Judal smile against his mouth and press kisses right back, and slide his arms around Hakuryuu’s waist.

“So yes?  Yes to Christmas stuff?” Judal finally asked once they were done kissing, all flushed and grinning.  “Because I was gonna find some mistletoe.  I think hot chocolate too.  Chestnuts?  I’ve never actually roasted those.   _Oh-“_

“I _think_ most of that goes on sale tomorrow,” Hakuryuu interrupted, wrapping the scarf around his neck.  “First though, I think I owe you a gift…”

 


End file.
